The present invention relates to a light hardening apparatus for effecting the light hardening of dental restoration pieces.
Light hardening apparatus for effecting light hardening within the dental field are currently configured either as a hand-held apparatus for the immediate light polymerization of a dental restoration piece in the mouth of a dental patient or as a stationary device.
Particularly in connection with hand-held devices, it is important that the polymerization be undertaken in a rapid manner especially if the limited time frame available for effecting a complete polymerization is to be respected as well in connection with larger dental fillings comprised of light-hardenable plastic or artificial material.
The conventional light hardening apparatus overwhelmingly comprise a halogen glow lamp having an integrated reflector whose light beam output is guided by a light guiding conduit having an outlet end disposed immediately proximate to the filling which is to be hardened. The usual light-hardenable dental plastic or artificial substances have a spectral sensitivity whose maximum lies in the range of visible light.
On the other hand, hand-maneuverable halogen glow lamps emit visible light with a substantially small UV portion of, for example, two percent. In order to improve the effectiveness of the light beam irradiation, it has been attempted to displace or shift the spectral sensitivity of the polymerizable plastic or artificial substance into the range of the long wavelength region. This, however, has only been successful to a limited extent.
It has further been proposed to shift the emitted spectral region to a higher frequency via a high wavelength light transmissive filter. However, in connection with this approach, a decidedly large amount of light beam energy must initially be produced so that the efficiency of the device is correspondingly poor. Typically, a cooling device must be deployed in order to limit the temperature of the light-hardening device which, however, results in an uncomfortable air stream for the dentist and/or the patient.
It is further known to deploy light hardening apparatus which work with semi-conductor light beam sources such as LEDs. For example, DE-GM 295 11 927 discloses a light-hardening device which uses a light diode which emits light in the blue spectral region and which is supplied from a battery or an accumulator.
It has, additionally, already been proposed to deploy a plurality of LEDs for the energy supply of the light guiding conduit. In this manner, the light output of the light-hardening device is improved. Independent of whether the LEDs are configured as modulexe2x80x94that is, in a common plastic housingxe2x80x94or as individual LEDsxe2x80x94that is, each respectively disposed in an individual plastic housingxe2x80x94the light output of such arrangements is limited. The plastic surroundings do not effect an electrical insulation of the LEDs but, instead, block the transfer or giving off of heat by the LEDs, so that it is necessary, even with a cooling of the plastic housing from the exterior, that a predetermined density of the light emitting chips not be exceeded.
There have been numerous attempts to improve the light density of the conventional light hardening apparatus, in order to achieve a complete hardening of, as well, the deeper lying layers in a rapid manner. Heretofore, conventional light hardening apparatus having a lighting strength of, for example, 50 mW/cm2 are able, in fact, to effect a correspondingly longer light irradiation of the plastic material to be polymerized so as to thereby produce a good hardening of the over surface. Deeper lying layers are, however, not at all hardened or, at most, are only incompletely hardened. There exists a hardness gradient which leads to the result that deeper lying regions remain soft or are only completely hardened after the complete hardening of the over surface regions.
The known light hardening apparatus lead to restoration results that are compromised by, or suffer from, in part, edge spalling problems. The known light hardenable plastic or artificial materials shrink or contract slightly during the hardening process. In connection with the known light hardening apparatus, a complete hardening initially is completed in the over/outer regions of the restoration piece. The thereafter following complete hardening of the deeper lying regions leads to contractions and, thus, to edge spalling formation.
Edge spalling problems occur in particular in connection with energy rich light hardening apparatus. On the other hand, a high energy density is desired with a correspondingly rapid complete hardening in order to make possible a rapid handling of the dental restoration piece that, as well, reduces the discomfort for the patient and leads to an improved work output in connection with the practice of a dentist.
The present invention offers a solution to the challenge of providing a light hardening apparatus for dental practice which reduces the tendency of light-hardenable masses to incur edge-spalling formation while at the same time permitting fabrication of such light hardening apparatus in a cost favorable manner and offering a light hardening apparatus which is flexible in its deployment.
In accordance with one embodiment of the light hardening apparatus of the present invention, it is particularly advantageous that the lighting intensity and, thus, the degree of complete hardening, can be accommodated to the requirements of the task by separate controls for the light sources for the various regions of the dental materials. In the edge region, for example, the dental restoration piece is typically thinner than in its middle region and, in the deployment of conventional light-hardening apparatus, the edge region is frequently thoroughly intensively hardened while the middle region with its larger layer thickness is only subjected to a hardening which meets the minimal interconnectivity requirements.
On the other hand, investigations have shown that a further hardening of an already completed hardened light and/or heat polymerizable plastic or other artificial material is not possible and, frequently, poor material properties must be accepted. In accordance with the current invention, these deficiencies are compensated for in that the separate control of the light sources for the various regions of the light-hardenable dental material can be accommodated to the requirements of the task. It is particularly advantageous in this connection that, in this manner, the possibility is offered to avoid the formation of edge spalling: edge spalling occurs through the contraction of the deployed plastic or artificial material during photo polymerization. With the light hardening apparatus of the present invention, the formation of edge spalls is prevented in that the separate control of the light sources for the various regions of the dental material is beneficially exploited such that, initially, a corresponding light source hardens one region and, thereafter, another region is hardened.
It is preferred that the one region is the middle portion, and the other region is the edge portion. In this configuration, the middle region is initially hardened by the first light source while the edge region is still soft, so that no edge spalls can occur.
In this connection, advantage is taken of the fact that during the complete hardening of a region, the contractions occurring thereat do not lead to the formation of edge spalls. At such a time point, the edge region of the plastic or artificial material is still fluid or is semi-fluid so that, during the complete hardening, no edge spalls occur.
The edge region includes, for example, a substantially reduced mass and, especially, a reduced width. The contraction in length in a transverse direction is in this connection clearly less by, for example, an order of magnitude of ten, so that the contractions remain within the expansion properties of the material. In this connection, the heretofore conventional light-hardening apparatus regularly completely hardened the edge regions due to the thereat reduced layer density. The edge regions in such circumstances not only had to compensate for their own contractions but, as well, had to compensate for the contractions in the considerably more voluminous middle regions, in order to avoid the formation of edge spalls, and this had to be accomplished although the edge regions also experienced a further hardening process conducted to ensure the complete hardening of the middle regions, whereupon the tendency of the edge regions to incur further diminution of their elasticity was detrimentally reinforced.
In accordance with the present inventions, the sequence of complete hardening is exactly reversed, which leads to the desired freedom from the formation of edge spalls.
It is possible to combine various LED-chips into groups for the light sources with one another in order to achieve a desired effect. The groups of chips can, in connection with this embodiment, also be individually controlled. For example, a group of targeted red light emitting chips can be deployed, if the light hardening apparatus is to perform a heat treatment. Through the individual control of the groups of chips, it is possible to also achieve a program controlled lighting effect if, for example, the light hardening is to be performed with light of different intensities. The diodes may be comprised of a selected one of a white color and another color. Furthermore, the groups of light diodes may be independently actuable, and those light diodes having substantially the same identity maximum are commonly actuable.
In accordance with a particularly advantageous embodiment of the light hardening apparatus of the present invention, it is provided that green emitting LED-chips are initially actuated to perform a pre-hardening, then an overflow of the material to be polymerized is removed, and thereafter a complete hardening at a wavelength of 420 nanometers is conducted.
It is particularly advantageous if the LED-chips are arranged in their plural arrangement in immediate adjacent neighboring relationships to the mass which is to be completely hardened, in order to perform the hardening process. In connection with this approach, there is offered for the first time the possibility to irradiate a selected region of the dental restoration piece with a selected LED light source. This approach permits, for example, the irradiation initially of the middle and typically deeper regions of the dental restoration piece to be conducted in an intensive manner. The hardening then follows so that, in effect, the central region is completely hardened. A contraction at this location is, however, not critical in connection with the formation of edge spalls, in that at this time point the edge regions have not been completely hardened. This represents a particularly advantageous advancement in the state of the art with respect to the heretofore conventional uniform hardening, whereby the formation of edge spalls is drastically reduced or even completely avoided.
Further details, advantages, and features are described in the hereinafter following description of several embodiments of the light apparatus of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the figures of the drawings.
The object and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: